wask-am espn-1450

[indifm]

This station desperately needs a website that features a programming schedule. Sometimes I turn it on and a local sports show will be on the air, but how is anyone to know without some sort of schedule??

On another note... I swear I heard Clayton Duffy on 1450 talking about the Joe Tiller/Danny Hope announcement!?!? Is Duff back, or was he simply a guest on the show?

 

[Boilermaker Country]

According to the J&C.....WASK hired three people to do sales for 1450. Out of the three.....one is Clayton Duffy and the other was a sports writer for the J&C.

It seems strange to have hired a couple of journalists with familiar names in Lafayette to do sales for 1450.

Could a local afternoon show be on the horizon? With 1070 doing a mix of ESPN and local talk it wouldnt be a bad idea.

 

[RDO]

I've always wondered why there has never been a sports station with at least one local show in a college town like Lafayette. Plenty of stuff to talk about.

 

[radio_radio]

According to the J&C.....WASK hired three people to do sales for 1450. Out of the three.....one is Clayton Duffy and the other was a sports writer for the J&C.

It seems strange to have hired a couple of journalists with familiar names in Lafayette to do sales for 1450.

Could a local afternoon show be on the horizon? With 1070 doing a mix of ESPN and local talk it wouldnt be a bad idea.

It seems like a good idea to me. Since the sale of advertising on a sports station is usually done to a direct business that has an interest in sports, who better than the person on the air? That way they can:

1. Talk sports with their customers;
2. Make significantly more money than they would as an air talent alone;
3. Make signficantly more money than they would in their previous career at the newspaper

The talent carrying a list has been around since Marconi.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

Never thought about it that way. Good points.
I've always been under the impression that on-air and sales should never ever mingle, but with sports perhaps you can do both.

Hiring those THREE guys to sell and be on the air is a miracle in this market. It's either a big investment (they have to be paying these guys $35-$40K each) or WASK Radio Group is rolling in money.

I'm going to vote for the "investment" part since this is Lafayette, Indiana we're talking about.
Radio revenues are down everwhere for owners...

 

[lurkerjock]

Talent carrying a list has been around since Marconi.....and it has failed since Marconi. What it does is force the talent and the sales person to do both, part time. Nothing against the talent, or the person, it just doesnt work.

 

[Timewarp]

Mom and pop small town radio always did it this way and it worked. The big corporate guys thought it
should be done differently. But to be good in sales you must believe in what you are selling Who would
believe in it more than the guy who is doing the show? WASK knows what they are doing!

 

[Boiler*FM]

I've heard rumors that Bob & Tom started this way, by selling ads for their own show??

 

[Timewarp]

Someone who is good on the air might make $30,000. Someone who is good in sales might do
better than $100,000. Some DJs think they're to good to do sales. What do you think?

 

[lurkerjock]

Don't get me wrong....radio talent can be very good in sales. In fact, Lafayette has several "talents" that are very good sales people. Fred, Ski, Mike and more. My point is simply that they cannot be successful at both. At some point in time you have to be dedicated to one or the other. If not, one of the two jobs will slip.

 

[ten_four]

I realize we are 40 years past the heyday of WFBM AM FM and TV. (Indianapolis) BUT....I believe Morning man Joe Pickett, Afternoon man Lou Sherman (a Billboard award winner for his air work), Night guy Bernie Herman and even Hal "Harlow Hickenlooper" Fryar were all air personalites and salesmen.

 

[radio_radio]

Talent carrying a list has been around since Marconi.....and it has failed since Marconi. What it does is force the talent and the sales person to do both, part time. Nothing against the talent, or the person, it just doesnt work.

That's a pretty broad statement saying it has failed always. I can site several examples of where it has worked wonderfully. It all depends on the person. It works alot better with sports personalities, or jocks who voice track and have 6 hours or more a day to sell. I'd rather pay a local guy to voice track and sell (earning $60K+) than have a $25K quality jock and a mediocre sales person. Or have generic satellite delivered crap and a sales person who wears short sleeve dress shirt with a tie way too short.

I remember my midday guy, who had numbers similar to those of WKOA or WTHI (26 AQH shares or more, in most demos) took home $85K in 1978...in Springfield , IL....voice tracking for 45 minutes or so...and selling the rest of the day.

I was making $60K+ in that manner in the early 80's in a smaller market, and that was back in an era when Automation was much less reliable and .mp3 files weren't even invented...the music was on 10" reels.

My guess is: you're the $25K a year jock that is a jealous because the sales people drive newer cars than you, and I doubt you would want me as your station owner.

Return to your duties

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

Obviously even 10 years ago, radio was a PERSONALITY-driven business and not a SALES-driven business.

Now it's 80-90% sales and 10-20% air talent (if they bother to get around to on-air content that's live, interesting, or compelling).
Most jocks really really really STINK now, but it's okay because the sales dept. is so ruthless and relentless to build revenue.

These days you can sell like a crazy person because you can phone in all the on-air part.
In the "good old days" it was the opposite. The stations used to be built around the jocks, now they are built around the sales dept.

The focus has switched/continues to switch to "How can we cut more on-air talent and pay another sales person?". Nothing wrong with that. Just stop pretending it's not the case, okay?

It's sorta like still calling MTV "Music Television". Radio "personalities"? How much personality can you put into a :15 automated break that backsells, mentions the jock's name, the day of the week, and the next three songs coming up?

Everyone's waxing poetically about how big their ratings were and how jocks were making $60K. That's before they had any type of competition from another radio station OR MP3's, satellite radio, computers, etc.
When you're the only (no talent) game in town, you're going to have the highest ratings. It's called "winning by default". It's like when they say WLFI is the best local station. No kidding???

This ESPN 1450 thing is going to be just fine. Their ratings are (at least for now) in the dumper-to-non-existent, so why NOT have the on-air guys sell, wash the dishes, put flyers on windshields, walk through town with a bullhorn, etc.
Lord knows nobody ELSE is going to do it over there!!! It's the AM for cryin' out loud!!! I'm sure all 6 of their listeners will enjoy the local content.

 

[radio_radio]

Obviously even 10 years ago, radio was a PERSONALITY-driven business and not a SALES-driven business.

Now it's 80-90% sales and 10-20% air talent (if they bother to get around to on-air content that's live, interesting, or compelling).
Most jocks really really really STINK now, but it's okay because the sales dept. is so ruthless and relentless to build revenue.

Maybe in one horse markets like Lafayette radio was a personality driven business, but every place I have ever worked...it was always a sales driven business. And yes, I am one of the most relentless revenue seeking missles you have ever met. I was also pretty good on the air.

As for ratings, it's a shame Shurz let 1450 deteriorate as a simulcast of their oldies station. If you look at similar "graveyard" frequency stations like WDWS and WJBL in Champaign and Bloomington, IL respectively (University towns with healthy economies) those stations have double digit 12+ ratings...which equates to top 1,2 or 3 in 25-54 and 35-54. They also have revenue well in excess of $1MM on their AM stations.

So your "It's the AM for cryin' out loud!!! I'm sure all 6 of their listeners will enjoy the local content." comment shows alot of your ignorance.

Thank goodness someone at Shurz is bright enough to rescue the station from certain death with a dedicated sales staff as opposed to a bunch of lazy transactional FM sellers trying it in combo.

Now onto your ratings comment....last I checked WKOA, WTHI, WWKI, and WASK-FM had pretty decent ratings. I think I saw where WTHI had a bunch of 30 shares again in many demos....Terre Haute has more radio stations than gas stations.

Everyone's waxing poetically about how big their ratings were and how jocks were making $60K. That's before they had any type of competition from another radio station OR MP3's, satellite radio, computers, etc.
When you're the only (no talent) game in town, you're going to have the highest ratings. It's called "winning by default". It's like when they say WLFI is the best local station. No kidding???

I hate to wax poetically, but do you really have any idea what you are talking about?

 

[Timewarp]

People who say that's not in my job description, have the same thinking that ruined railroads and factories
in our country. The truth is that if you want to remain of value in this biz, you should learn how to do
it all.

 

[Lafayette Unplugged]

Obviously even 10 years ago, radio was a PERSONALITY-driven business and not a SALES-driven business.

Now it's 80-90% sales and 10-20% air talent (if they bother to get around to on-air content that's live, interesting, or compelling).
Most jocks really really really STINK now, but it's okay because the sales dept. is so ruthless and relentless to build revenue.

Maybe in one horse markets like Lafayette radio was a personality driven business, but every place I have ever worked...it was always a sales driven business. And yes, I am one of the most relentless revenue seeking missles you have ever met. I was also pretty good on the air.

You (accidentally) hit the nail on the head. It's Lafayette and nobody from OUT OF TOWN will ever figure it out. Relying on consultants and "how well the big markets do" is what kills/killed Lafayette radio. It's all copycat, counter-programming and grasping for straws now and whatever format the "fancy big city" satellite companies and consultants advise the owners to use. If ALLLLL of this wonderful research and format-a-go-go was worth the investment, wouldn't SOMEBODY have figured out a way to knock WKOA off the top after ALLLLL this time? They either don't want to take the risk or roll up their sleeves, or they are happy to let WKOA win by default and not figure out that country works in this market with veteran trusted personalities and TRY TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR. Would WAZY become a 50K Watt hot-country blow torch that carries all the Purdue games, court some of the WKOA people away with more money and bury WKOA once and for all? Probably not because it's (sniff) too hard and would cost (sniff) too much money.
[/quote]

As for ratings, it's a shame Shurz let 1450 deteriorate as a simulcast of their oldies station. If you look at similar "graveyard" frequency stations like WDWS and WJBL in Champaign and Bloomington, IL respectively (University towns with healthy economies) those stations have double digit 12+ ratings...which equates to top 1,2 or 3 in 25-54 and 35-54. They also have revenue well in excess of $1MM on their AM stations.

So your "It's the AM for cryin' out loud!!! I'm sure all 6 of their listeners will enjoy the local content." comment shows alot of your ignorance.
[/quote]

Well, at least you're not making it personal. But there's that "Hey, AM's are big elsewhere!" mentality. This isn't elsewhere, Mr. Good in Sales and On the Air, it's Lafayette! Nobody seems to want to figure that out or accept it, I guess. At least not the owners and some of the programmers.
[/quote]


Thank goodness someone at Shurz is bright enough to rescue the station from certain death with a dedicated sales staff as opposed to a bunch of lazy transactional FM sellers trying it in combo.
[/quote]

A day (actually a year) late and a dollar short on FINALLY switching WASK-AM to "something" versus "nothing" (simulcasting), but I wish them luck. I bet those other AM's actually PROMOTE their product, right? Another "unique" quality of Lafayette radio: Other than WGLM, when's the last time you saw heavy market coverage of billboards, newspaper/magazine ads, and television/cable ads? Yeah, that's what I thought. How hard and how much budget would it take to promote ESPN radio on, saaaaaaay, ESPN on Comcast Cable!!!!? "We'd rather have people just FIND us and then we'll build on that". WHAAAT???
[/quote]

Now onto your ratings comment....last I checked WKOA, WTHI, WWKI, and WASK-FM had pretty decent ratings. I think I saw where WTHI had a bunch of 30 shares again in many demos....Terre Haute has more radio stations than gas stations.
[/quote]

Terre Haute, Terre Haute, blah blah blah other markets blah blah blah. When did I say WKOA-FM and WASK_FM DIDN'T have good ratings???
WTHI and WWKI aren't in the Lafayette market and don't even show up to be considered serious players in the Arbitrons (much like WASK-AM because not many are writing down in their diaries that they listen to AM radio in Lafayette ALTHOUGH I'm sure it's ignorant to suggest THAT, right?
Arbitron is totally wrong, I'm totally wrong, and your non-ignorant data from other bigger markets is what we should probably go with) .

Everyone's waxing poetically about how big their ratings were and how jocks were making $60K. That's before they had any type of competition from another radio station OR MP3's, satellite radio, computers, etc.
When you're the only (no talent) game in town, you're going to have the highest ratings. It's called "winning by default". It's like when they say WLFI is the best local station. No kidding???

I hate to wax poetically, but do you really have any idea what you are talking about?

[/quote]
You can get on here and speculate but I can't? Thanks, Fidel. We all come on here to comment on something we have an informed opinion about and then disappear for awhile when people get too personal about their comments and just want to go after someone and say "you're ignorant" (So next I call you a poo-poo head and then we exchange another 2 or 3 posts before they tell us to go stand in the corner and take a time out).
The fact that I'm talking about Lafayette radio and you've got some lovely entertaining numbers to back up Terre Haute, Kokomo, and Timbuk 3 makes me wonder why you didn't just read and then keep scrolling down to something that applied to what I was writing about?

After you add Lafayette to your growing list of "all the places you've worked" come back with something we can use . Your speculation about AM radio in other markets compared to what I actually KNOW about the Lafayette market don't match and you go off on ME for being ignorant?
Agree or disagree but please don't make your posts accusatory.

 

[Ur-A-Dawg]

Where's Hal and Frank when you need them?